-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- As Walter Thomas knows , it 's hard to look for a job when your stomach is rumbling .

Samirah , 2 , asked her mom to take this photo to show that hungry people `` are like everyone else . ''

The 52-year-old from Washington , D.C. , started skipping meals in early January when his savings account was running dry and his kitchen cabinets were almost empty .

Thomas at first did n't want to turn to the United States ' food safety net , the food stamp program , for help .

But after being laid off in July from what seemed like a steady job in sales at a furniture store , Thomas swallowed his pride and applied for the monthly food aid .

`` It lets me think , ` OK , well , tomorrow I 'll be able to eat . If nothing else , I 'll be able to eat , ' '' he said .

With the national economy in meltdown , more Americans than ever are relying on the federal aid program to keep from going hungry . In October , more than one in 10 people -- about 31 million -- were using the food stamp program to get by , according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture .

More recent numbers are not available , but advocates for the poor say the number of those in need of aid probably has increased since then .

Stereotypes associated with food stamps abound , and recipients are often seen as prone to taking handouts , sometimes when they may not be needed .

But the profile of hunger in America is multifaceted , as diverse as the nation itself , especially in these times of economic hardship .

To get a better idea of what it 's like to live on a food stamp budget , CNN correspondent Sean Callebs has decided to eat for a month on $ 176 and blog about the experience on CNN.com . Watch reporter 's struggle to buy food with food stamps ''

That 's a situation many people , Thomas included , can relate to . Thomas , who said he had been working steadily since he was 13 years old , now receives $ 175 per month for food . That 's about $ 5.83 per day -- less than $ 2 per meal . See what people on food stamps can buy ''

Not that Thomas is complaining . After getting his first payment , which is added to an inconspicuous debit card to reduce the stigma associated with the program , Thomas went straight to the grocery store . He was hungry and grateful .

`` It 's definitely been a blessing to me , '' he said of the food stamp program , which , since October , has gone by the name Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , or SNAP .

Advocates for the poor , as well as those on federal assistance , hope President Obama 's economic stimulus plan will increase food stamp payments . The average family on food stamps would receive $ 79 more per month if the stimulus bill passes in the U.S. Senate this week , according to The New York Times . iReport.com : How are you doing in this tough economy ?

There is some debate about whether giving people money to spend on groceries is a valid form of economic stimulus .

Few are more hopeful the measure will pass than Crystal Sears , a 30-year-old mother in Germantown , Pennsylvania , who said she has been on food stamps for more than three years .

Sears said she sometimes skips meals so her three children can eat . Even with federal assistance , she said , she sometimes has to make a meal for herself out of crackers or food scraps .

She said she has been out of work for several years because all three of her children have medical conditions : Her 8-year-old son has a seizure disorder that requires frequent hospital visits and constant attention ; her 2-year-old daughter was born with heart problems ; and her 12-year-old daughter has scoliosis , a back condition that recently required two surgeries , she said .

Without much money , she 's forced to make tough choices .

`` If the kids needed sneakers and their sneakers are getting too small , or if my water bill is past due , I 'd opt not to pay it and risk them sending me a shut-off notice just so my children can eat , '' she said .

Sometimes she chooses to buy more food instead of paying her gas bill to heat her home . When she does , the family sleeps huddled around their stove or an electric heater , she said .

Her monthly food stamp payment is $ 489 , she said . That 's sometimes sufficient . But some months , she said , she does n't receive full payments because of mix-ups with paperwork . Until recently , she said , she received about $ 250 per month , which she said was far from enough to feed her family of four .

The SNAP program is meant to supplement a person 's food budget , not cover all food expenses , said Jean Daniel , a spokesperson for the USDA , which administers the program .

Taking on part-time work would further complicate the application process , she said . Sears said she worked for seven years at a Salvation Army shelter before becoming unemployed .

`` For me , I 've always been a helper . And my thing is I do n't like to help people to enable them . I like to help people so they can help themselves in the long run , '' she said .

Sears stretches her food budget by buying cheap and sometimes fatty meals . She said she does n't like doing that but ca n't avoid it . With food prices high , she said , grocery shopping is stressful .

`` We get like the mac and cheese , which is dehydrated cheese -- basically food that 's no good for you health wise , '' she said . `` Everything is high in sodium and trans fats ... and that 's all we basically can afford . There 's not enough assistance to eat healthy and maintain a healthy weight . ''

Advocates for the hungry say many people on the food stamp program opt to buy less-healthy foods because they ca n't afford fresh fruits and vegetables on such a tight budget .

Food stamp `` benefits are n't really enough for a healthy diet , '' said Jim Weill , president of the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center .

Sears said she is grateful for the help she does get .

Maribel Diaz , a 36-year-old mother of three boys in Los Angeles , California , said her $ 319-per-month payment is n't always enough .

But she said she would starve herself before letting her boys go hungry .

`` You 're bringing home less bags -LSB- of food -RSB- now , because the milk is almost $ 5 a gallon and the bread is $ 3 a loaf . ... A chicken is , like , now $ 8 , '' Diaz said . `` If you 're really breaking it down , you 're not bringing a lot of groceries home . ''

All SNAP recipients are eligible for free nutritional counseling to help people stretch their food budgets , said Daniel , of the USDA .

Advocates for the hungry find flaws in the way the program is set up , but they praise it for being a safety net the government ca n't take away during tough times .

Unlike aid to soup kitchens , the food stamp program receives federal funding in times thick and thin , and has a $ 6 billion backup fund , Daniel said .

`` The money will be found so people are not turned away , '' Daniel said .

All of the benefits paid to participants come from the federal government . States split the program 's administrative costs .

Advocates see some flaws in SNAP but generally give it praise .

`` I say about food stamps what Winston Churchill said about democracy : ` It 's the worst possible system except all the others , ' '' said Joel Berg , executive director of the New York Coalition Against Hunger .

Berg said the program 's benefits are too small and too difficult for people to obtain .

But the food stamp program is somewhat successful , he said .

`` The main purpose of the program is to wipe out Third World starvation in America , and it 's worked , '' he said , adding that he 's optimistic about improvements that could come as part of the economic stimulus plan .

Thomas , the laid-off furniture worker in Washington , said he does n't want people to feel sorry for him .

After being let go from his store , he stopped at an employment center before going anywhere else . He said he faxed about 20 résumés to similar companies on that very day .

None has resulted in a job yet , but Thomas said he has been to interviews for other types of work and hopes employment will come soon .

For now , he 's just happy to continue the job search without the pain of hunger nagging at his stomach .

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More than 1 in 10 Americans are part of the federal food assistance program

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Some people say it is hard or impossible to make ends meet , even with help

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President Obama 's economic stimulus plan could increase food-stamp funding

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CNN 's Sean Callebs will live on $ 176 this month to learn about life on food stamps